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Combined Admiralty Class Heavy Cruiser
The Combined Admiralty Class Heavy Cruisers were several similar classes of heavy cruisers stemming from the Menace class, which were built in emergency. Each ship has proved extremely useful in combat, pioneering pressure graviton engines, submercible technology, and automated central AI system. Currently, the Monarch Class is the most modern development of these ships. The Menace Class The Menace and the Terror were built in an emergency to counter Deltabash light cruisers being constructed. Their initial configuration had plated metal with grooves rather than wood on the main deck, leaving behind centuries of Liberon tradition. Menace had her main mast installed just forward of the X turret as a freestanding structure, while Terror had no forward flagstaff and her mast was mounted on the rear of the funnel. Terror also didn't have an enclosed catapault. Initially, the ships were mounted with the same turrets as the Electra and other Liberon heavy cruisers, the three gun 8 inch turrets that have become the staple of Liberon cruisers, heavy or light. The ships were state of the art for their time, only requiring some 300-400 people to operate. Similarly sized ships needed double or triple the crew to maintain, and at a lower efficiency. Over the course of their early service history, the ships were constantly dogged by the fact that their smaller guns were not adequate in firepower. The Ranger Class Large Cruisers proved very effective in the anti-cruiser role with their 12 inch main batteries, and a concerted effort was made to mount the large rifles onto the Menace. The smaller hull size of the Menace class ended up meaning realistically, the ship could only carry 10 inch main rifles, and in limited double turrets (the rifles could not elevate independently). However, much of the offensive problems of the Menace and Terror were solved in a simple armaments change. The refitted version of the ships is shown. The two ships had storied, illustrious careers, mostly sailing together in a two-ship division. Both ships were eventually lost in the Battle of Cape Cod and are popular diving sites. Menace sits 200 meters below the water almost completely upright and intact, while Terror is in half and at 400 meters. Her bow is completely inverted, while her stern remains lost. The Princesa do Ceu The Princesa do Ceu was an immediate development of the previous class of ship. Some sources state her as the lead ship of the Princessa do Ceu class, which encompasses the Cavendish/Consort and Monarch class ships. She carried four two-gun turrets mounting 8 inch rapid-fire guns. While she had one less gun than her predecessors, the Menace class when initially built, her turrets had higher rotation speed and rate of fire. A cut down mast allowed for a reworked forward superstructure and larger compass platform. Automation was increased to the point where the ship only needed the 20 core officers to run the ship. A few tweaks in the Pressure Graviton Engine from Lautern meant that she could reach just over 50 knots. She possessed the same torpedo and anti-air armament as the Menace class, but had the ability to FTL jump due to posessing FTL spools. Princesa do Ceu is the second most decorated ship in the Liberon navy, the first being Electra CE-1. She took part in operations such as Operation Mars, Operation Gauntlet, Operation Cimmaron, and Operation Manmaxman. She was also the spearhead in the Battle of Cape Cod, the Naval Action off Roanoke, the Battle of the Canyons, and many escort duties, non-intervention patrols, and merchant raiding. She was finally lost when her overworked AI systems rammed her into an uncharted island in the Pacific Ocean. The Cavendish/Consort Class The Cavendish class ships were meant to be improved versions of the Princesa do Ceu. Submarines had taken their toll on convoys throughout the Deltabash War, and for this reason, the Helicopter deck on the previous three ships were allocated to depth charge racks. Along with this, depth charge shelves were also installed in the sides of the hull one deck above the waterline, and the ability to reload torpedoes in combat was sacraficed for canister launchers (for decoys, hedgehogs, etc). The Cavendish class was late to the Deltabash War, and the ships ended up providing valuable escort service in subsequent wars due to their wide mission range capability. The funnel was a lot smaller, since it's only job was to provide smokescreens. Her systems were overhauled and superior in range and clarity. Much of the exterior design remained the same, however. The Monarch Class The Monarch class more or less embodied the spirit of the Combined Admiralty Class ships. Diana, the first and currently the only of the class, was built in need when Mercular and Forsakenwizard comissioned new and powerful heavy cruisers into their naval fleets. Diana was built to level the playing field in the international balance of naval power, and as such, made her the most powerful heavy cruiser ever built. Technology included it being completely automated, superior fire control systems, reworked engines for higher speed, and general improvements. The ship is capable of fully submerging, and it has a major, starship-like FTL Jump Drive. A reworked secondary grouping allowed for more of the excellent quadruple mounts used on previous ships to be more focused on the broadsides while still being able to train 360 around the ship. The rear depth charges were moved one deck lower into the ship, opening up the rear deck for a helicopter pad, like in the Menace, Terror, and Princesa do Ceu. Finally, the catapault structure was reworked, allowing for full sized fighter craft to operate off of the ship. For details on the Monarch class, click here.